


Coming Home

by AliciaMcWayne



Series: Jabari Lands [1]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Black Character(s), F/M, Female Character of Color, Happy Ending, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 03:55:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13942047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliciaMcWayne/pseuds/AliciaMcWayne
Summary: The story starts over a decade ago, when M'Baku was a young man in love. It travels forward in time to present day when she, the girl he once loved who is now a Dora Milaje, returns home to deliver the news to the chief of the Jabari that the king is dead.





	Coming Home

M’Baku/Ifeye  
(e-fay-yay)

 

TWELVE YEARS AGO

M’Baku waited anxiously for her in the hallway outside of the auditorium. Though it was actually very light, the small box in his hand felt incredibly heavy. Ifeye was graduating secondary school as valedictorian and would be joining him at the University of Wakanda in the fall. He had finished his exams for his double majors in Biology and Agribusiness two weeks ago but stayed at his apartment in the city so that he could be there for her graduation. Her parents were also there having made the trip from the mountains the night before.

When the rush of students finally exited from the back of the stage and M'Baku saw her, his face lit up with joy. He was so proud of her. As the chief’s son, he would one day lead his people, and Ifeye was the woman he wanted by his side. At university, she would be studying history with a concentration in military tactics. She had aspirations to be a leader in the Jabari army. Ife had studied martial arts since she was young and had mastered several disciplines. She was proficient with the use of several types of weapons and in hand to hand combat.

When she caught sight of M’Baku, Ife smiled and ran to him with her arms wide. When she reached him, he scooped her up in his arms and smiled down at her. He lowered her back to her feet and placed a soft lingering kiss on her mouth. He remembered himself when he heard her father clear his throat. Embarrassed, he released her quickly and took a step back.

“Mama, Baba!” she said to her parents, embracing them both in turn. “Oh my beautiful daughter! We are so proud of you!” Her mother showered her with hugs and kisses while her father tried to hide the tears in his eyes. M’Baku waited patiently letting her bask in the much deserved attention. When she turned to him, he nervously held out the box to her. She took it and opened it carefully, eyes widening at the beautiful gift. It was a small pendant that he had had custom made in the shape of the Jabari mountains with a relief of a gorilla, the symbol of their people. Ife looked up at him with misty eyes. She picked up the necklace and handed the box to her mother. She turned around eagerly so that M’Baku could place it around her neck. When she turned back and looked up at him, all was right in his world.

 

EIGHT YEARS AGO

As she made the short walk to M’Baku’s home, Ife dreaded the conversation that she would have to have with him. She had been offered a position with the Dora Milaje, the most elite military force in Wakanda. It was an immense honor only the most intelligent and skilled fighters were chosen. It was also a very rare opportunity. Her parents were so proud. Her father had told her that she brought honor to their family and to all of the Jabari people. She had a feeling that none of that would matter to M’Baku.

When she arrived at M’Baku’s home, his mother greeted her with a warm hug. They chatted amicably for a while since it had been several weeks since she had been for a visit with his parents. Hearing Ife’s voice, M’Baku came to the kitchen to find her. His mother fixed them some tea and left them to talk.

M’Baku came to stand in front of her and put his arms around her. He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face so that he could lean down and kiss her. He took his time savoring the taste of her lips. He felt contented. Ife had graduated with honors and would now move back home. Due to her military training at university, she had already earned a commission in the Jabari army. M’Baku’s father was getting up in age and was planning to retire in a few more years. He would turn the chiefdom over to M’Baku, and M’Baku knew that he could not have a better woman by his side to lead their people.

Ife took a few moments to bask in his love and attention before she took a tense step out of his embrace. She tried to look into his eyes, but couldn’t hold his gaze.

“I have been selected to become a Dora Milaje.” She told him, her words tumbling out faster than she meant to. When he didn’t answer, she glanced up at him. He stared down at her in pained confusion.

“You told then no, didn’t you?” His tone held disbelief, hoping that she had turned them down but knowing that she hadn’t.

“M’Baku this is the chance of a lifetime. This is an almost unheard of opportunity.”

“Opportunity for what? To babysit a pompous king and his spoiled children? To be his consort?” He spit out the last word derisively as if it sickened him to even utter it.

“You know that that tradition has not been practiced for over a hundred years. King T’Chaka is loyal to the Queen. And the Dora Milaje are not babysitters. They protect our country’s most valuable asset.”

“I thought a country’s most valuable asset were its people.”

“Of course it is! And the King leads his people.”

“He does not lead us! They have let their love of technology keep them from honoring traditions and the land.”

“We can embrace technology and still honor the old ways” Ife’s voice was confident though her eyes were pleading. “We can find a balance. You went to school in the city, you saw how much easier life is there.” She wanted desperately for him to understand. There was no way she could not take this opportunity.

“Life is not so hard here that I would abandon my people.” She felt the judgement in his tone and in his words.

“You think that is what I am doing? Being a Dora Milaje does not mean that I am no longer Jabari.”

“But you would leave. You would move to the city.” 

“Not necessarily. The captain and a few of the other Dora Milaje are married. They are able to go home to their spouses every night. Once I completed my training, I could come home on the weekends.”

“Weekends?!” He practically roared.

“It’s just that the trip into the mountains is too far to make everyday.” Ife was desperate for him to understand. She hoped that he wouldn’t make her choose. She reached toward, but he stepped away from her touch. 

“I can’t live like that. I need to be a leader for my people and I need a woman who is ready to lead with me.”

“So what are you saying?” She blinked rapidly to try to stop the tears, but it was no use.

“I don’t have to say anything. This is your decision.” He folded his arms across his chest and put a blank expression on his face. 

She stood there for what seemed like an eternity, just staring at him, hoping that he would take back those words. That he would tell her he wanted to try to make it work.

When he didn’t say anything, she wiped her face with her hands and took a deep breath to steady her voice. “Tell your mother that I said thanks for the tea.” Then she turned and left.

 

TWO MONTHS AGO

Her king was dead, killed in a terrorist attack in Vienna. In two weeks time, his son T’Challa would become their new king. He had dispatched four of the Dora Milaje captains to invite the chiefs of each of the tribes to the challenge ceremony and the coronation celebration that would follow. T’Challa had chosen Ife to visit the Jabari chief because she herself was Jabari. She had considered asking to be reassigned to visit one of the other tribal chiefs but decided not to risk involving the prince in her personal affairs.

When she arrived, she was escorted to M’Baku’s throne room. Looking at him after so many years was like being hit with an energy blast from one of her sister’s spears. Every regret that she felt over the past eight years for leaving him behind came flooding to the surface. His gaze bored into her with an intensity that would make most people quake. But she was Dora Milaje. She was trained to keep her composure in the most dangerous of circumstances. Certainly, she could stay composed now.

He did not seem happy to see her, so she spoke formally as she had been instructed. She spoke as if he were a complete stranger, not the man that she had loved since she was a teenager.

“Great chief of the Jabari people. I come to you on behalf of the royal house of our great nation. It is my duty to inform you that our sovereign king, T’Chaka, is dead. In two weeks time, the crown prince, T’Challa, will undergo the Rite of the Panther. Your presence is requested to give the prince your blessing or to invoke the tribal right to challenge for the throne.”

M’Baku just continued to stare at her with his angry, penetrating gaze. He turned to his guards. “Leave us,” he said with a calm that he did not feel.

After they were alone, he stepped down from his throne and walked to stand in front of her.

Looking down at her, his gaze softened. “Ifeye.” He said her name as if he had been holding his breath since she walked into his throne room. “You look,” he hesitated, trying to think of how to proceed. Her head was shaven as was required of all Dora Milaje warriors, but she still looked as beautiful as ever. It suited her. Made her look strong. So he decided to go with that. “You look strong.”

She looked up at him with sadness and longing in her eyes. “Thank you my chief.”

“My chief?” he scoffed. “I thought you did away with that when you left.”

“I will always be Jabari. Nothing will ever change that,” she said proudly.

“If you are Jabari, you should be with the Jabari,” he said forcefully. “Your gifts would be better suited serving your own people, Ife. You need to come home.”

“I am serving all of my people by serving my king! Maybe you should serve the Jabari people by coming down out of this mountain and joining the rest of the country.” She stared up at him defiantly.

He glared back at her angrily for several moments. “Sunkami!” he called to his personal guard. “See our guest out,” he ordered when Sunkami re-entered the room. Being dismissed, Ife brought her heels together and tapped the base of her spear to the floor in the formal manner of the Dora Milaje. Then, she followed Sunkami out of the throne room.

 

SIX WEEKS AGO

At the challenge ceremony, Ife danced beside her sisters in arms as they splashed in the water and basked in the beautiful afternoon sun. None of the tribes present had challenged T’Challa for the throne. He would make a good king, one that she would be proud to serve.

She was listening to her sister Eyitope talk excitedly about the festivities to come later that evening when she heard something that made her blood run cold.

“Wheeeeefaaaah!”  
“Hoot!”  
“Wheeeeefaaaah!”  
“Hoot!”

It was a familiar sound. The tribal call of her people declaring the arrival of their chief. Ife turned to the entrance of the cave and watched as her tribesmen walked out into the sunlight. Her chest felt tight, and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat when M’Baku made his way onto the cliff. She was so distracted by their presence that she barely heard the words he said as he made a bid to challenge T’Challa for the throne. He had never expressed a desire to rule over Wakanda. His heart had always been in the mountains.

She did not hear her prince call for them, but when her sisters moved, she moved with them. It would kill her if she had to attack her Jabari brothers, but she would do the duty that she had sworn her life to.

She watched anxiously as the two men fought, moving in step with her sisters to make sure that no one intervened. When the fight ended, she felt slightly traitorous but also relieved that T’Challa had overpowered M’Baku and that he had yielded. There was no dishonor in losing, but there was in making an empty challenge. This bothered her more than anything. Why would M’Baku challenge for a throne he did not want?

********

The general and the king left the country for a mission in Korea, so Ife decided to take the opportunity to make another visit home: this time, a personal one.

When she arrived, she was escorted to M’Baku’s den which acted as an antechamber to his bedroom. He didn’t look surprised to see her, so she cut right to the chase, “Why would you challenge the king?”

“It is my right.” He tried to stare her down, but she was Dora Milaje. She had never been intimidated in her life, and she would not be intimidated now.

She squared her shoulders and stared back at him. “But that is not your reason. Why did you challenge the king?”

He sighed, resigned, and sat down in a thick chair. “We are losing our people and our traditions. More and more Jabari are moving to the city. What will become of our mountain if there are no people to sustain it?”

She felt his pain. She knew of the pride and dedication to the mountain and their way of life that his father had instilled in him. She moved to stand in front of him. When she reached up to caress his face, he parted his legs, and she stepped between them. He put his arms around her and leaned into her, letting her feel the weight of his burden. He let his head fall against her breasts and relished the comfort of just holding her. Holding his head, Ife said softly, “Maybe we need to move into the present to hold on to the past.”

He looked up at her sadly, thinking of their past. Of the time they had lost. She leaned down and kissed him tenderly. She cupped his head and when her lips gently teased his mouth open, his tongue sought her own. She took a step back as he stood up, taking over the tempo of their kiss. He pulled her tightly against him, and she could feel his thick length against her stomach. He picked her up and walked her through the side door that lead to his bedroom.

He set her gently down beside his bed and lifted her shirt over her head. He was halted by what he saw around her neck. His fingers reached out and picked up the small silver pendant that lay against her chest. “You still have this?” He said awestruck.  
“I’ve never taken it off,” she confessed. “Well... only to shower.” she added with a wry smile. He leaned down and kissed her with all the longing of eight years spent without her.

They made quick work of ridding themselves of the rest of their clothes. He made love to her many times throughout the night. First slowly and sweetly, remembering a time long past. As they lay together in his bed and she started to fall asleep, he became restless and hungry for another taste of her. His mouth found every inch of her body... her neck, her breasts, her stomach. He made her come again with his tongue between her legs. Then, he flipped her onto her stomach and pulled her onto her knees. He gripped his cock to guide it into her, and she moaned in ecstasy. His rhythm started slowly as he savored the feeling of her core gripping him tightly. The head of his dick scraped against a sensitive spot inside her as the thickness of his shaft stretched her. Ife’s soft purring as his body stroked hers made his head dizzy, and he couldn’t hold back anymore. He increased his pace, and his heavy sack slammed against her clit, driving an intense pleasure through her. He gripped her hips tightly, pumping back and forth as the back of her thighs smacked against the front of his. He pounded into her so forcefully that her knees were slightly off the mattress, her legs spread wide and her ass propped against his stomach. Her purring turned to tortured moans as her orgasm gripped her entire body. She screamed his name as they came together.

He fell to the side and pulled her against him. He knew that in the morning she would leave again. It was like a knife to his chest. But for now, he would be content with having her in his arms.

 

TODAY

After the battle at the border, T’Challa returned to the mountain to thank M’Baku for bringing his army to help him retake the throne and control of Wakanda. He had brought four Dora Milaje with him, including Ife, who stood sentry at the door while she waited for her king.

“You are a part of Wakanda and we need you, now more than ever, to help keep our country strong,” he said to the chief.

M’Baku was still skeptical of integrating the Jabari tribe into the rest of greater Wakandan society. T’Challa tried to assuage his concerns. “We can respect and honor the ways of the Jabari people. If you take your rightful place at court, you can help to guide us regarding what that would really mean. The full resources of Wakanda are yours and your peoples to use, or not, as you see fit.” He leaned in close and added, “and I think there is more for you in the city than you realize.”

M’Baku looked over T’Challa’s shoulder at Ife. She looked so powerful and intimidating in her armor, and he had to admit that he felt pride in the warrior that she was. “Believe me,” he said “I know”.

 

TEN YEARS FROM NOW

“Ouch!” M’Baku looked down to see what caused the slight pain in his leg. His daughter had snuck behind him and poked him with a stick. “What did I tell you about playing with sticks in the house?” His stern tone held an annoyance that he didn’t actually feel. Along with his wife, his children were his pride and joy. They filled his heart.

“It’s not a stick, Baba! It’s a spear! I’m training for when I become a Dora Milaje like Mama.”

Although Ife no longer directly served as a guard to the king, she was still Dora Milaje. She was a trainer to the new warriors that protected the king and also a strategic tactician for the network of spies that Queen Nakia instituted to help combat guerrilla groups throughout neighboring countries.

“Well, practice on your brother,” M’Baku told her.

“What!?” His son looked up from his tablet. “Don’t come near me with that thing.” He glared at his sister. “If you make me lose this level, I will throw that stick down the mountain.” At seven and four, his children were a handful.

“Both of you need to finish your homework. Your mother is bringing dinner home, and I want you to be finished before she gets here.”

“Baba, if we had the fiber connections like Aunt Shuri put in the palace, I could play the holographic version of this game,” his son told him excitedly.

“I am not carving up this mountain so that you can play video games. Now put the game away before I throw it down the mountain.”

“Awwww!” his son groaned before turning the game off.

He had relented on some technology and had wireless receivers installed so that the Jabari people could enjoy fast and reliable network connections in their homes and schools. He also had helipads installed at various points around the mountain. He had Shuri work with a team of Jabari engineers to plan the best locations for the helipads to have minimal impact on the mountain and its plant and wildlife. The decision had paid off as many Jabari began to move back home as it made commuting to work in the city easier.

“Baba, I already did my homework,” his daughter told him haughtily. “I need to practice with my spear,” she said sticking it in her brother’s face. He slapped it away and got up to go to his room, his sister trailing behind him waving her stick/spear menacingly at him.

M’Baku picked up his communication device and sent a text message to his wife.

“When are you going to be home? Your children are going to be the death of me.”

After a few seconds, Ife sent back an image of a skull and crossbones followed by one of a cartoon laughing gorilla. His screen flashed again. “I’ll be home soon, love.”

He couldn’t wait.


End file.
